The present disclosure relates generally to turbine engines and, more specifically, to a rotor section containment assembly having an improved load path transition between components of the assembly.
At least some known gas turbine engines, such as aircraft engines, include a stator assembly that extends circumferentially about a rotor assembly of the turbine engine. Known rotor assemblies include at least one row of rotor blades that extend radially outward from a blade root, for example, such that the rotor blades rotate proximate the stator assembly of the turbine engine. At least some known stator assemblies include a soft wall containment assembly that facilitates providing rotor containment during unlikely events, such as an unexpected blade-out condition. The soft wall containment assembly generally includes an engine casing, a collapsible containment member coupled to the engine casing, and a carbon fiber backsheet extending across the collapsible containment member and a portion of the engine casing.
At least some known backsheet structures are typically a constant thickness. This thickness is the minimum thickness necessary to satisfy strength requirements at each point along the full length of the backsheet. However, some points along the length of the backsheet have lower strength requirements than others, and as such do not require the same backsheet thickness as points with higher strength requirements. Accordingly, at least some known backsheets are overdesigned, which increases the weight of the backsheet and also manufacturing costs.